The Head of State has laid flowers to the Kruty Heroes Memorial Cross at Askold's Grave in Kyiv, where a part of the deceased had been reburied. Together with the attendees, the President has honored the memory of the fallen heroes with a moment of silence.

Petro Poroshenko has noted that young defenders of the UPR had sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of the native land. "New times have come and thousands of new heroes have sacrificed themselves for the sake of Ukraine! But we will never forget the cadets of the First Ukrainian Military Youth School and the warriors of the Auxiliary Kurin of Sich Riflemen," the President said.

The Head of State has emphasized that the Battle of Kruty was a lesson for Ukraine that underestimation of the role of the army in ensuring the independence could lead to the tragic events. "The leaders of the national liberation struggle of the last century have underestimated the role of the army in securing independence. And the same mistake was repeated over the last two decades," the President noted. Petro Poroshenko has stressed that the Ukrainian army was being reborn at the cost of colossal efforts and by the end of 2015 it was planned to increase the number of the Armed Forces up to 250 000.

Near the monument, the President has presented state awards to young ATO participants Lieutenant Nazarenko and soldier Kurinnyi. "You have a great honor to receive the deserved awards at this sacred symbolic place. You are students just like the Kruty Heroes, but you are a bit older," the Head of State noted adding that a lot of students were serving in the ATO as volunteers.

The ceremony was also attended by Chairman of Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov, members of the Government and people's deputies.